Division of Rheumatology

Patient Population and Disease Mix

The patient population encountered by the fellows during their training is very diverse. Fellows are exposed to Private Practice as well as to Hospital Clinic settings. Approximately 60-80% of the patients are from minorities, either Hispanic or African-American.

Over 200 active patients with SLE are followed in the Lupus Clinic at Montefiore Hospital and about 100 in the Jacobi Lupus Clinic. Fellows acquire extensive experience in dealing with the full gamut of disease manifestations.

The Arthritis Clinics expose the fellows to a broad range of Rheumatic Diseases and the triage clinic exposes them to acute musculoskeletal problems and soft tissue problems referred from the primary care clinics.

From the very beginning of the first year, fellows have contact with patients with rheumatologic diseases, including:

rheumatoid arthritis

systemic lupus

spondyloarthropathies

crystal-induced arthritides

infectious arthritis

osteoarthritis

fibromyalgia

soft tissue rheumatism

Within several months of the first year of fellowship, most fellows have had the opportunity to care for patients with a variety of vasculitides, inflammatory muscle disease, mixed connective tissue disease and scleroderma.

Within a year, most fellows work with patients with a variety of rare rheumatologic diseases including Behcet’s, periodic febrile syndromes and RS3PE.

A cooperative relationship with the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and its two outstanding pediatric rheumatologists offers further opportunities to care for patients with juvenile inflammatory arthritis and the full spectrum of pediatric rheumatologic diseases. Pediatric patients are seen either in clinic or in the hospitals on a consultation basis.